The Health Department said on Tuesday that the Philippines has reports the second foreign national has died in the country due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

According to, Health Secretary Francisco Duque, he received unverified information that an American patient with pre-existing medical conditions had succumbed to the respiratory disease before dawn and told DZMM “I still have to validate that.”

So far today, The Philippines has confirmed 24 cases of the disease, including one fatality: a Chinese national from Wuhan City in China, where the virus was first reported. And there was a 44-year-old Chinese tourist who was the world’s first COVID-related death outside China.

Common signs of infection of the novel coronavirus include respiratory symptoms, fever, cough, shortness of breath and breathing difficulties. In more severe cases, the infection can cause pneumonia, severe acute respiratory syndrome, kidney failure, and even death. 

Based on the report of Agence France-Presse, COVID-19 has already killed 4,000 people with more than 110,000 cases in over 100 territories

On Monday, President Rodrigo Duterte has declared a state of public health emergency to arrest the spread of the novel coronavirus.

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